Erich Göstl was a member of the Waffen SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Göstl was born in Vienna on April 17, 1925. In World War II, he was a member of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler during the Normandy Campaign where he was in the 6th Company, 1st SS Panzergrenadier Regiment, deployed near the French town of Tilly, a few kilometers from Caen.